Ride on Rattlesnake Ridge

We’ve ridden above the low hills

that separate Rattlesnake Mountain

from the river, far from the road.

Behind us to the west,

a steep wall of prairie

bends up and away

from the nuclear mystery

lurking in the distance.

As far from the reactors

as we can get on horseback,

and still, the fact of the future is fully visible.

Down the trail,

along the rim of a deep ravine,

with only rocks and sage and

prairie grass on all sides,

my daughter and I ride

slowly into the past and home.

12/8/98